Chapter 4We Start on the Journey

"See, the whole island is made of volcanoes," said the Professor, "and pay close attention - they all have the name Yocul. It's Icelandic, and it means glacier. In a lot of the tall mountains in that area, volcanic eruptions come out of ice caves."

"That's why they call every volcano on this crazy island that."

"But what does Sneffels mean?"

I didn’t think I’d get a real answer to that. I was wrong.

"Follow my finger to the western coast of Iceland. You see Reykjavik, its capital? Now follow one of its tons of fjords or arms of the sea, and what do you see below sixty-five degrees latitude?"

"A peninsula - shaped like a thighbone." "And in the middle of it - ?" "A mountain." "That's Sneffels." I was speechless.

"That's Sneffels - a mountain about five thousand feet high, one of the most amazing ones on the whole island, and definitely going to be the most famous in the world, because through its crater we’re going to reach the center of the Earth."

"No way!" I said, totally shocked.

"Why no way?" Professor Hardwigg asked, sounding super serious.

"Because its crater is full of lava, burning rocks - like, endless dangers." "But if it’s extinct?" "That would change things."

"Of course. There are like three hundred volcanoes all over the world - but most of them are extinct. Sneffels is one of them. It hasn’t erupted since twelve nineteen - it basically isn’t a volcano anymore."

What else could I even say after that? Yeah - I thought of another thing.

"But what about Scartaris and the kalends of July - ?"

My uncle thought really hard. Then he dropped a serious answer. " What seems confusing to you is clear to me. This phrase alone shows how specific Saknussemm is with his directions. Sneffels mountain has tons of craters. He’s careful to point out exactly which one is the way into the Earth’s core."

"He lets us know, to help us out, that around the end of June, the shadow of Mount Scartaris falls on that one crater. There's no room for doubt."

My uncle had an answer for everything.

"I get all your explanations," I said, "and Saknussemm's right. He found the way to the Earth’s center, he pointed it out correctly, but to think he or anyone else followed up on that discovery is just crazy." "Why do you say that?"

"All science, both the theory and the practice, shows it’s impossible."

"I don’t care about theories," my uncle snapped.

"But everyone knows that heat goes up one degree every seventy feet you go down. That gives you an idea of the heat in the center. Everything that makes up the Earth is glowing hot; even gold, platinum, and the hardest rocks are melted. What would happen to us?"

"Don’t freak out about the heat, kid." "How come?"

"Neither you nor anyone else really knows what the Earth’s inside is like. All the new experiments are proving the old ideas wrong. If there was that much heat, the top layer of the Earth would explode into nothing, and the world would be over."

We had a long, kinda nerdy, but actually pretty interesting discussion, which ended with him saying:

"I don’t believe in the dangers and difficulties you, Henry, are making up. The only way to know is like Arne Saknussemm did - go see for yourself."

"Okay," I said, finally giving in, "let’s go see. But how we’re supposed to do that in the dark is another question."

"Don’t sweat it. We’ll handle this, and a bunch of other stuff too. Plus, as we get closer to the center, I’m betting it’s gonna glow - " "Anything’s possible."

"And now that we’re totally on the same page, not a peep to anyone. Our success hinges on keeping it on the DL and moving fast."

That’s how our unforgettable meeting wrapped up, and it totally lit a fire in me. Leaving my uncle, I felt like I was possessed. Getting to the Elbe, I started to think. Was everything I’d heard actually real? Was my uncle serious, and could you actually reach the inside of the earth?

Was I getting played by a loon, or was he some seriously brave dude with a huge vision?

I was kinda eager to bounce. I was worried my excitement would fizzle out. I decided to pack up right away. But then, like an hour later, heading home, my feelings had totally flipped.

"I’m tripping," I shouted. " It’s a dream - I must have imagined it."

Just then, I ran into Gretchen, and I gave her a big hug.

"So you came to meet me," she said.

"That’s so sweet. But what’s wrong?"

Well, there was no point in beating around the bush, so I told her everything. She listened with wide eyes, and she couldn’t say anything for a few minutes.

"Well?" I asked, a little nervously.

"What an epic journey! If only I were a guy! A journey worthy of the nephew of Professor Hardwigg. I’d consider it an honor to tag along with him."

"My dear Gretchen, I thought you’d be the first to freak out about this crazy idea."

"Nah; quite the opposite, I’m stoked. It’s amazing, incredible - an idea worthy of your dad. Henry Lawson, I’m jealous."

That pretty much sealed it. The final nail in the coffin.

When we got to the house, we found my uncle surrounded by workers and movers, who were packing things up. He was yanking and hauling on a bell.

"Where have you been? Seriously, what were you doing? My bag isn't packed - my papers are a mess - the tailor didn’t bring my clothes or my gaiters - and I can't find my carpet bag key!"

I stared at him, totally lost. And he was still pulling on the bell.

"So, we're really going?" I asked.

"Yep - absolutely! But you go out for a walk? Unfortunate kid!" "And when do we leave?"

"The day after tomorrow, at sunrise."

I didn't hear anything else. I bolted to my room and locked the door. There was no doubt about it now. My uncle had been busy all afternoon. The garden was full of ropes, rope ladders, torches, gourds, iron clamps, crowbars, alpenstocks, and pickaxes - enough to load ten guys.

I barely slept a wink. I was woken up early the next day to hear that my uncle was set on this, no changing his mind. My cousin and my fiancée were just as serious about it as her dad.

Next morning, at five AM, the post chaise was waiting. Gretchen and the old cook got the house keys. We barely paused to say goodbye and took off on our crazy adventure into the center of the Earth.